1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Eponymous

EPONYMOUS, that which gives a name to anything (Gr. ἐπώνυμος, from ὄνομα, a name), a term especially applied to the mythical or semi-mythical personages, heroes, deities, &c. from whom a country or city took its name. Thus Pelops is the giver of the name to the Peloponnese. At Athens the chief archon of the year was known as the ἄρχων ἐπώνυμος, as the year was known by his name. There was a similar official in ancient Assyria. In ancient times, as in historical and modern cases, a country or a city has been named after a real personage, but in many cases the person has been invented to account for the name.